Faces from the past: Frederic Morton Chamberlain (1867-1921), pioneer fishery biologist of the American West

The life of Frederic Morton Chamberlain (1867–1921) was marked by his many contributions to fishery science. As an assistant with the old U.S. Bureau of Fisheries, he pioneered life history studies of salmon in California and Alaska, and assisted in the collection of hundreds of thousands of natural history specimens from the Pacific Ocean as resident naturalist on the U.S.S. Albatross. He was innovative in the use of field photography in fishery work, and the design and construction of capture nets and collecting gear. His detailed reports were important in documenting the conditions of the native ichthyofauna in Alaska, Arizona, and California at the turn of the century and have been heavily relied upon by subsequent investigators. His ability to design and conduct scientifically justifiable studies to solve fishery problems while under many kinds of hardships is a testament to his background and dedication to the field. He represents the prototype of the modern fishery biologist.